La última edición de Ruta 61 va dedicada a Manolo Martínez Molina, que fue quien hace 15 años me animó a presentar el piloto de Ruta 61 a la entonces directora de Radio 3, Lara López. Gracias a Lara y al entonces subdirector de Radio 3, Diego Manrique, por aprobar el proyecto. Gracias a todos los oyentes del programa por haberlo escuchado a lo largo de los años. Por último, pero no por ello menos importante, gracias a todos los intérpretes de blues por regalarnos esta música tan profundamente humana. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Done Got Old – Buddy Guy; Am I Wrong – Keb' Mo'; Low Down Ways – Jontavious Willis; Blues for Charlie – Ike Quebec; Bad Avenue – Valerie Wellington; Wade in the Water – Big Mama Thornton; Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King, con Stevie Ray Vaughan; Cross Road Blues – Robert Johnson; Come On In My Kitchen – Cassandra Wilson; Black Girl (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) – Lead Belly; Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes – Taj Mahal; All Night Long – Junior Kimbrough; Hoodoo Man Blues – Junior Wells.

El lema de esta penúltima edición de Ruta 61 es sencillo pero significativo: el blues tuvo un hijo y lo llamaron roc'n'rol. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; I'm A King Bee – The Rolling Stones; I'm A King Bee – Slim Harpo; I'm A Lover Not A Fighter – The Kinks; I'm A Lover Not A Fighter – Lazy Lester; The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll – Muddy Waters; Ball and Chain – Big Mama Thornton; Ball And Chain – Janis Joplin; Back Door Man – The Doors; Back Door Man – Howlin' Wolf; Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues – Skip James; Hard Time Killing Floor – Pura Fé; Crow Jane – Skip James; Crow Jane – Samantha Fish; Wassulu Don – Oumou Sangaré.

Llega a España el quinteto neoyorquino de blues rock más cañero con un nuevo disco autoeditado bajo el brazo titulado “Rollin’.” Sus dos anteriores álbumes, "No B!" y "Spiritus," se editaron en Ruf Records. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Wade in the Water – Jane Lee Hooker; Shadowman, Where’s My Baby?, Q Blues, Sundance – Will James; In the Valley, Free Me, The Hunter, Champagne and Reefer, Didn’t It Rain, Mannish Boy, Shake For Me – Jane Lee Hooker.

Nos despedimos de dos poderosas cantantes: la irrepetible Tina Turner, que ha fallecido en Suiza a la edad de 83, y la gran Velma Powell, a quien sus amigos y compañeros de escena darán un homenaje en la sala madrileña El Sol. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Dust My Broom – Ike & Tina Turner; Nothing But the Cat, Let's Do It Again, Blues To The Bone, Too Late – Velma Powell & Bluedays; Rocket 88 – Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats; My Baby Stole Off – Howlin' Wolf; Five Long Years, Early In the Morning, A Fool For You, Something's Got A Hold On Me – Ike & Tina Turner; Undercover Agent For the Blues – Tina Turner; Proud Mary, Good Times – Ike & Tina Turner.

Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Sunday Afternoon Blues – Ilya Portnov; Knocking Myself Out, Cool Can of Beer, Walk Across the Ocean, Reefer Head – Catfish Keith; What You Put On Me, Dark and Dangerous Love, Call Their Name, Party at Red's – Fiona Boyes; Cincinnati Flow Rag; In a Town Garden, Behind the Wall, Strong Brew, Till the Early Morning – Ilya Portnov.

Esta semana tenemos dos dúos y un trío: Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia acaban de editar el álbum "Blood Brothers" (Gulf Coast Records); volvemos a escuchar a Stefano Ronchi & Marcos Coll predicar el blues en la calle en "Street Preachin'" (Gaztelupeko Hotsak); y el bluesman de Chicago Will Jacobs une fuerzas con las blueswomen Ghalia Volt y Katie Henry en el álbum "Blues Caravan 2022" (Ruf Records). Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Tooth and Nail – Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia; She's Got It, Me and the Devil – Stefano Ronchi & Marcos Coll; Hop On a Ride, I Play the Blues For You – Will Jacobs, Ghalia Volt & Katie Henry; My Business, You're Gonna Burn, Bag Me Tag Me Take Me Away, No Good Woman, Hey Sweet Mama, Hill Country Jam, One Step Ahead of the Blues – Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia.

Escuchamos el blues de dos dúos hispano-estadounidenses: Will Jacobs & Marcos Coll, que están de gira por España esta semana (Madrid, León, Cuenca, Navalmoral de la Mata, y Éibar), y Rockin' Johnny Burgin & Quique Gómez. Y también disfrutamos del blues y boogie woogie del pianista catalan Lluís Coloma, que vuelve a Madrid para actuar en el Café Central. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; It Ain't Safe, Blues Cazorla Boogie – Will Jacobs & Marcos Coll; Lux's Boogie #2 – Lluís Coloma Trio; Libertyville Blues, Balearic Shuffle, Trip to Everywhere – Lluís Coloma & His Musical Troupe; Your Charm Won't Help You, Coffee Can Blues, Otro hombre – Rockin' Johnny & Quique Gómez; One Too Many Times, C. J.'s Bounce, Hey Baby – Will Jacobs & Marcos Coll.

¡Vivan las mujeres! Escuchamos a grandes blueswomen en el Día Internacional de la Mujer. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Bumble Bee – Jane Lee Hooker; Wang Dang Doodle – Koko Taylor; Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton; Crazy Blues – Mamie Smith; Downhearted Blues – Bessie Smith; Blues Oh Blues – Ma Rainey; The Ball Game – Sister Wynona Carr; God's Mighty Hand – Sister Rosetta Tharpe; Good Daddy Blues – Dinah Washington; Me and My Chauffeur – Memphis Minnie; Knockin' Myself Out – Lil Green; Dream Lucky Blues – Julia Lee; Why Don't You Do Right – Carolina Chocolate Drops; Walking Blues – Bonnie Raitt; The Devil Is An Angel Too – Janiva Magness; Crow Jane – Samantha Fish; Eyes On the Prize – Mavis Staples.

Disfrutamos de temas del nuevo álbum del bluesman de Florida, Damon Fowler, Live at The Palladium,  editado en Landslide Records. Entre los amigos que acompañan a este guitarrista fuera de serie está el gran armonicista Jason Ricci. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; It Came Out of Nowhere, The Guitar, I've Been Low, Some Things Change, Don't Feel Like Going There, Tax Man, Up the Line – Damon Fowler & Friends.

Disfrutamos de temas de cuatro nuevos álbumes de artistas de blues norteamericanos: From the Shoals, de Barbara Blue en Big Blue Records; Hi-Fi Drive By, de Jeremiah Johnson en Ruf Records; Live! At the Fallout Shelter, de la Diane Blue All-Star Band en Diane Blue Music; y Big World of Trouble, de Walk That Walk. Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Nothing Lasts Forever, Nutthouse Blues, The Shoals – Barbara Blue; '68 Coupe Deville, The Squeeze, Skippin' School – Jeremiah Johnson; I'm Gonna Get You Back, Insomnia, Push On Through – Diane Blue All-Star Band; See Poppa C, You Can't Stay Here, Good Woman, Boogie Chillen – Walk That Walk.

Playlist: Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells; Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes, Corinna, What Am I Living For?, I Need Your Loving –Taj Mahal; Waking Up the Dead, Count Your Chickens, Blue Mirror, Root Down, You Got Me Whipped – Joe Louis Walker; That's What Love Will Make You Do, I Need A Man, I'm Glad You're Mine, Slipped Tripped and Fell In Love – Janiva Magness; (You've Got To) Love Her With A Feeling – Taj Mahal.